The first highlight of the Bacolod trip over the weekend was a visit to the Negros Occidental Cybercenter. It is Bacolod/Negros Occidental's version of Block 71. Blk71 in Singapore is where entrepreneurs, investors, developers and mentors within the interactive digital media space are within close proximity to each other, being home to more than 100 start-ups, venture capital firms and tech incubators.
I can see that one day, if we fuse together the talent of the Negrenses, the mentoring of Bacolodnons like primo Diego Jose Ramos, Eduardo Mapa, Dondi Mapa, Norelyn T. Babiera, marketing savvy of Rudy Villar Jr, corporate minds like primo Atty. Francis GB, plus the funding coming from "sugar money" (not your usual venture capitalists), Bacolod/Negros Island can make its own mark in the tech startup scene.
The hard infrastructure is here and is waiting.
I know of no other province outside of Metro Manila which has this kind of support in terms of physical infrastructure and government backing. The fact that Bacolod City Councilor Atty. Jocelle Batapa Sigue is going around the country and being invited by LGUs to talk about "the Bacolod model" is proof enough that Negros Island is peering into the future.
